An Alliance for those who enjoy letter writing and postal adventures.

December 18, 2013

Pen Pal Present Suggestions

Tis the season for gifting, and while I consider every letter to be a sort of gift, perhaps you're on the look-out for things to send to your pen pals in celebration of the holiday season. I am always hunting down flat, easily mailable gift items to enclose in my letters; often that means things like stickers, bits of ephemera, and other stationery objects. The letter with "enclosures" is always a fun time. Here's a round-up of some things that I found to send to friends & pen pals this year.

I love what lasers and stationery can do for each other. Play with Lasers from Austin, TX makes these great create-your-own monster and robot card kits which are a pretty irresistable present. I also like their flat-packed wooden ornaments. They say that they mail very well and I'm excited to send them.

And what pen pal wouldn't want more stationery? I love these sets from Orange Beautiful. I've gone through multiples of the boxed cards and envelopes; sometimes I ship them just like that with an addition of a shipping label and some stamps. Isn't the packaging divine? And the sentiment of the stationery is unparalleled.

They are obscured within their glassine envelopes, but Pink Tank makes these amazing laser-cut steel ornaments. I love their fractal designs and how each one is perfect to tuck inside a holiday card. They also make some fantastic bookmarks, also easily mailable. Each looks so delicate, but that steel is really sturdy.

So what are you guys sending out as pen pal gifts for the holidays? Please leave your clever suggestions in the comments!

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In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item. The Letter Writers Alliance is dedicated to preserving this art form. Prepare your pen and paper, moisten your tongue, and get ready to write more letters!

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